Goal Club Honors Six Hall of Fame Inductees

NEW ROCHELLE, NY - The Iona College Athletic Department held its 31st Annual Goal Club Hall of Fame Golf Outing on Monday, June 4, 2012 at Wykagyl Country Club in New Rochelle.

Six stellar former student athletes and supporters were inducted into the Goal Club Hall of Fame. Highlighted by the surprise induction of Jeanne Morris '74 and Janice Ghiorsi '76 - two pioneers of women's athletics at Iona College as the first captains of the women's basketball program - the pair joined men's basketball's Steve Burtt '06, women's swimming and diving's Laura Koch '98 and benefactors David J. McCabe '80, and JoAnn Mazzella Murphy '98H as the Hall of Fame Class of 2012.

The Hall of Fame Dinner also included the presentation of the Donald E. Walsh '66 award, presented annually by the Iona College Goal Club to individuals who have demonstrated loyal support and service to Iona College Athletics through exceptional volunteerism. This year's award was presented with great honor and respect to the Iona 5'ers, the pioneers of today's Goal Club. Six original Iona 5'ers - Bill Aitchison '61, Ray Coyne ‘54, Terry McCormack '67, Frank McGuire '55, Don Short '59, and Joe Tighe '60 - accepted the award in honor of the original members of what is now known as the Goal Club.

The Iona Hall of Fame Golf Outing and Dinner directly benefits the Iona College Goal Club, which is the fund raising arm for Iona's 21-sport athletics program. The donations received from the Hall of Fame Golf Outing will help support scholarships, equipment and other essentials needed to keep Iona College at the forefront of Division I Athletics. Through the support of the community, alumni, families and friends of Iona College, the Goal Club has enabled us to make great strides within our athletic programs.

On behalf of the Athletics Department and all of the student-athletes who will benefit from the generosity of the many people who supported our golf outing, we thank you!

Due to inclement weather this morning, the golf portion of the day has been rescheduled for Monday, Aug. 13 at Wykagyl Country Club.

GOAL CLUB HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

Steve Burtt '06

Steve Burtt '06 - a native of Harlem, NY - is one of the most prolific scorers in Iona College Men’s Basketball history. Burtt’s successful career started in junior high school where he played at Mt. Carmel Holy Rosary and later Rice High School. Burtt’s career at Iona lasted from 2002-2006 where he led the Gaels to the 2006 MAAC Championship in his final season. He graduated with his degree in Marketing.

Steve is currently second on Iona’s all-time scoring list with 2,034 points, behind none other than his father. Other achievements include first in all-time three-point field goals made (263), second in free throw percentage (83.1%), fourth in field goals made (672), fifth in three-point field goal percentage (39.2%), fifth in free throws made (427), and ninth all-time in scoring average (17.0 ppg). Burtt and his father hold the NCAA record for most points scored by a father-son combination with 4,568 and are the only two Iona performers to eclipse the 2,000-point mark.

Additionally Burtt accolades include an All-MAAC Third Team selection in 2004, All-MAAC Second Team selection in 2005, and All-MAAC and All-Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association First Team as a senior in 2006. He was a member of the 2005 and 2006 MAAC All-Tournament Teams and was the 2006 MAAC Championship Most Valuable Player.

After graduating from Iona, Burtt has played professionally in a number of different countries, including Greece, Israel, Spain, Italy, and most notably the Ukraine. While playing for BC Ferro (Zaporozhye, Ukraine) he led his team to a second place finish in the regular season and went on to win the Ukraine Cup in postseason play. Burtt continues to play overseas and aspires to return back to the United States to pursue a career in coaching.

Laura Koch '98

Laura Koch '98 - a native of Sugar Land, TX - was one of the most decorated female swimmers in Iona swimming and diving history. At the time of her graduation, she held nine individual school records: 100-, 200-, and 500-freestyle, 100- and 200-breaststroke, 100-, and 200-butterfly, and 200- and 400- individual medley while a member of all five school relay records.

As a versatile swimmer, Koch was the first female to win MAAC Championship gold for Iona, taking the 500-freestyle and 200-breaststroke titles in her freshman year. In her junior season, Koch took gold in the 200-IM and 100-butterfly. She was named Goal Club Athlete of the Week during the 1994 season. Koch also accumulated eight more individual medals during her career in the MAAC Championship. She was a qualifier for the ECAC Championships every season and gained a pair of bronze medals in her senior year in the 100- and 200-butterfly.

Koch was a four-time team MVP and a three-time team captain.

All of Koch’s 1998 team records have been broken over the past 14-years, but each of her times would have reached the championship heats at the most recent MAAC Championship.

Koch was recruited for swimming and academics in 1994, but in 1995 was given an opportunity to play water polo. She was an inaugural member of the women’s water polo program, part of the first ever divisional championship team and gained All-Academic Honors in 1999. She was a four-year starter, two- time captain, played 40 games and completed her career with 56 steals, 25 goals, 36 assists and 61 points.

Since her competition days at Iona College, Koch continues to swim and competes in United States Masters Swimming (USMS). She has been USMS National Champion and named an All-American numerous times over the past seven years, holds South Central Zone records, and has many top ten and FINA World Masters rankings.

David J. McCabe '80

David J. McCabe '80 enters the Iona College Goal Club Hall of Fame as a significant contributor and friend of Iona College Athletics. McCabe is a Legal Trustee of Iona College and a senior partner at Willkie, Farr & Gallagher LLP. McCabe’s generosity and support has been vital to the development of Iona College and the success of its athletics programs.

In addition to serving as a Legal Trustee at Iona College, Dave serves as a member of the Executive Committee, and is the chairman of the Advancement Committee. Dave is a member of the President’s Club and is involved in various events at Iona.

McCabe has been a strong advocate in support of women’s sports and Title IX for Iona College Athletics. With his generous contributions to various women’s programs, most notably the donation of an outdoor batting cage for the softball team, McCabe continues to aid in the success of women’s sports at Iona.

In his continued betterment of Iona, McCabe founded The Catherine H. '71MA and Hugh J. McCabe '49 Endowed Scholarship Fund in honor of his parents. Also a supporter of club rugby, he has played an important role in the success of the program.

Active in the community, McCabe serves as the President of the Boys & Girls Club of New Rochelle, co-founded the Partnership for the Huguenot Children’s Library, and was on the Board of Directors at the Ursuline School and the New Rochelle Humane Society

JoAnn Mazzella Murphy '98H

JoAnn Mazzella Murphy '98H enters the Iona College Goal Club Hall of Fame as an extraordinary contributor and friend of the College and its athletics department. Her generosity has proved to be vital in the athletic program’s success as well as the college as a whole.

JoAnn is a Legal Trustee of Iona College and a Vice Chair of Country Bank. She has generously given her time and resources towards the enrichment of the institution and its athletic programs.

JoAnn and husband Joseph M. Murphy have worked hard to ensure that their kindness is bestowed upon Iona College and other educational institutions.

Serving as a focal point of campus life at Iona College, Mazzella Field was made possible through the extreme generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph and JoAnn Murphy. Named in honor of her parents Concetta and John M. Mazzella, the field serves as a home for men’s and women’s soccer, women’s lacrosse, club rugby, and conditioning for Iona’s student-athletes and Hynes Athletics Center patrons.

Originally the Mayflower Elementary School, JoAnn and Joe had the Murphy Science and Technology Center built and named for Mr. Murphy’s parents. This building houses the Christopher J. Murphy Auditorium (2007), named in honor of the Murphy’s late son, Christopher.

On top of their generous contributions to Iona College, the Murphy family played an integral part in the creation of the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City several years ago.

Jeanne Morris '74 & Janice Ghiorsi '76

Jeanne Morris and Janice Ghiorsi were pioneers of women's sports at Iona College.

When women first arrived on the Iona campus in the Fall of 1969, it was not until 1973 when women - who had been playing intramural basketball - organized an intercollegiate program. Co-captained by Jeanne Morris and Janice Ghiorsi, these women recruited fellow student Kevin Fitzpatrick to coach the team. After all of their hard work and preparation, the Iona College women's basketball team took to the court for their first game, February 7, 1973 against Manhattanville.

The next season the program hired head coach Sandy Capifali to lead the program. In 1973-1974, the team gained its stride and went on to have a successful 12-2 record and won an invitational tournament.

On the forty-year anniversary of Title IX; we salute Jeanne, Janice and their teammates for pioneering the first women's intercollegiate sport at Iona College. These women paved the way for the thousands of female student-athletes that have followed in their footsteps.

2012 DONALD E. WALSH '66 AWARD

This year the Don Walsh Award was presented to the "Iona 5'ers" - Bill Aitchison '61, Ray Coyne '54, Terry McCormack '67, Frank McGuire '55, Don Short '59, and Joe Tighe '60. This award is in recognition of the ongoing support and contributions that this group of distinguished alumni instituted more than forty years ago. Their vision led to the foundation of the Goal Club, which continues to foster the advancement of Iona College athletics year after year. The following is a list of more than 175 of the founding members of what is now known as the Goal Club: